


Goodbye To My Santa Monica Dream

by Yulicia



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M, life is strange au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 04:00:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11073627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yulicia/pseuds/Yulicia
Summary: When Hux had returned to Arcadia Bay for his Senior year at Blackwell he thought his time there would be uneventful. What he rapidly discovers is that that is certainly not the case as not only does he discover he has a power no living creature should have, but the whirlwind of his old best friend, Ben (now Kylo) becomes a major part of his life again. His life certainly was turning out to be rather strange.





	Goodbye To My Santa Monica Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the Life Is Strange AU that absolutely no one asked for but I'm writing anyway. Life Is Strange itself deals with some pretty heavy themes, which I will try to put in the end notes of each chapter as they occur if you would like a warning. This fic will obviously contain some spoilers for the game, but it's likely a lot of the events will be changed rather drastically. This is unbeta'd, I do all of my editing myself so please be forgiving on that front :) Anyway, onwards!

There was a lighthouse.

Hux knew where it was – on top of the hill by the bay. What he _didn’t_ know what how he’d gotten there. Last thing he’d remembered was sitting at his desk in Professor Snoke’s photography class back at Blackwell. Now, he was in the middle of a storm.

The wind lashed against his skin, the cold water sending a chill through him. Everything beyond the lighthouse was covered in fog, the light on inside the tower his only guide. He stumbled forward, bracing his arm in front of his face to shield his eyes from the torrential rain. He was drenched – he’d clearly been out here a while. He just didn’t remember ever arriving. He narrowly dodged a falling tree as he made his way unsteadily up the pathway, the heavy oak making a loud bang that made Hux flinch. The dirt had mixed with the water and was now slick mud, and his footfalls were unsteady and slow.

There was a bench by the lighthouse. It was falling apart, the old wood clearly no match for the galling winds. The wind was loud, the rushing howl the only thing Hux could hear. He squinted out over the bay, looking for the source of the rather extreme weather.

Hux’s eyes widened at what he saw, his heart dropping to his stomach. A hurricane was destroying Arcadia Bay below him. The winds picked at the waves, crashing them into the tiny town. The winds themselves tore apart buildings, the debris flying every which way. Some debris, Hux saw, flew into other buildings, tearing them asunder. He still could hear nothing over the roar of the hurricane. His heart was pounding. What was going on? His immediate thought was to run, to hide, to get as far away from that natural monstrosity as possible. His foot caught on something as he backed away. He fell. But he felt no pain as he hit the ground. Because he didn’t hit the ground.

Hux jolted awake, nearly smacking his knee on the underside of his desk. He looked around frantically. His palms were clammy and he could feel the sweat pooling under his jumper. He was still in Snoke’s photography class. It was sunny outside, the warm rays of sunshine glistening through the windows. That would make a beautiful picture. The classroom was silent. A phone went off but was quickly silenced. Hux looked at Snoke, and found the Professor looking directly at him.

“Am I boring you, Mr. Hux?” Snoke said, his arms crossed over his chest. A scowl was plastered across his scarred face, his lips downturned.

Hux coughed. “Of course not, Professor.”

“So you were not sleeping in my class?”

Hux shook his head. “Of course not, Professor.”

Snoke hummed. “Then could you tell me what the first practical method for obtaining permanent images with a camera was called?”

“Uh,” Hux said eloquently. He couldn’t answer. He didn’t know if he knew the answer. He was sure he did, and it must be in his brain somewhere but it was clouded by the sheer panic of his nightmare.

Snoke sneered. “If you were listening, Mr. Hux, you would know that it was the Daguerreian Process. I’ll thank you to pay attention next time.”

“Yes, sir,” He replied, feeling his cheeks warm. He ran his hand through his hair, and flung it down onto the table. His hand connected with the activation button on his camera and he was left with an unintended candid photo of his chest and most of his face. He put the photo away in his journal quickly before Snoke could see, adding it to his already massive collection of photographs.

“I could photograph any of you in a dark room…” Snoke went back to teaching the class, droning in that horrible, monotonous voice of his. Hux tried to pay attention, he truly did, but his mind kept wandering to that strange nightmare. He heard a phone ring, and the clatter of someone dropping their pencil. There were birds singing outside.

Before he knew it the class was over, and Snoke was dismissing everyone with a wave of his hand.

Hux threw back his chair, the legs scrapping upon the ground and making a horrible grating sound. He quickly collected his things, throwing them haphazardly into his bag. He didn’t care about neatness right now, he just needed to get out of this stifling classroom. He tugged at his collar, trying to breathe.

He pushed past his fellow students in the doorway, ignoring their protests, and rushed down the hall. He felt like he was going to be sick. He swung upon the door to the men’s bathroom and rushed to the sink.

There, he held a tight grip on the white porcelain – his grip so chocking it turned his already pale skin whiter. He took a few deep breaths, telling himself to calm down. He turned on the tap, the old metal pipes groaning in protest. He cupped the water in his hands and splashed it onto his face. The water was cool on his flushed skin, and the relief he felt was immeasurable. He slumped down next to the sinks, feeling lightheaded.

He sat there for a moment, trying to calm the nausea roiling in his gut. His took deep breaths in and out, running his nails along his palms. He watched as a beautiful blue butterfly fluttered in through the window atop the wall of the bathroom, through the grated metal. It flew down to land on a faded orange bucket, the contrast of colours a beauty to behold. Hux held his breath, and reached for his camera. It would be a sin not to capture such a perfect, picturesque moment.

He crept over towards the bucket, lining up the perfect shot. The rule of thirds and everything he’d learned about low light photography ran through his mind as he pressed the button on his camera, hearing the satisfying click as he immortalised the butterfly and its presence in digital media forever.

The door to the bathroom crashed open, startling Hux. He ducked quickly behind the stalls, out of sight of whoever entered. He kept very still, listening as not one, but two pairs of footsteps came thundering into the room.

“What do you want, Nathan?” A voice asked. It was deep, gravely, and strangely familiar – though why, Hux couldn’t quite tell.

“Kylo, you never paid me for that last deal I got you,” Another voice said, this one higher, and likely this ‘Nathan’.

There was a scoff, “Because you didn’t get me a deal, you got me a bag of overpriced garbage.”

“No, what I got you was legitimate, and I want my money!”

There was a crash. Hux held back a gasp. His curiosity got the better of him and he moved forward silently to peek beyond the stall walls. There were two figures, one holding the other against the grimy bathroom wall. Both of the figures were familiar to him. Nathan Prescott he knew, everyone knew who he was. His father was a major donor to the school - no one messed with Nathan Prescott and lived to tell the tale.

The other figure… the other figure was more complicated. Hux knew the face, knew the graceful slope of that nose, the warm chocolate of those eyes. It had been 5 long years since he’d seen that face since he moved away to Seattle. He knew Ben Solo, and even with five years between them he’d recognise him anywhere, even with his hair half pushed under a beanie and a tattoo down his arm.

Ben struggled against Nathan’s grasp. “Threaten me all you like, Prescott, I’m not changing my mind.”

Nathan growled and reached into his pocket, fishing around for something. He pulled out a gun, and held it to Ben’s temple. The metal shone brightly, the little sunlight pouring into the bathroom refracting off of the weapon. Hux watched as Ben’s eyes widened significantly in fear.

“Woah, let’s not be hasty now---“

Ben didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence as a loud bang rang out through the bathroom. The sound echoed throughout the small room and Hux had to bite down on the urge to scream. The walls were a mess of red, and Hux felt sick again. As if witnessing a train wreck Hux couldn’t look away as Nathan let go of Ben in shock, throwing the gun aside. Ben’s body felt limp to the ground with a thud, the sound sickening and wet.

Hux’s temple began to sting. His vision blurred, and he felt himself fall against the stall wall with a thud. He vaguely heard a voice calling out in the small bathroom, an anguished screaming. He felt his world go black.

“Am I boring you, Mr. Hux?” Snoke’s voice said.

Hux jumped to attention, ramrod in his chair, the fog clearing from his mind. Snoke was staring at him with furious intensity. Again. Had he fallen asleep again?

“Of course not, Sir,” Hux replied, feeling unbelievably strange. This had all happened before. 

“So you were not sleeping in my class?”

Hux shook his head. “Of course not, Professor.”

Snoke hummed. “Then could you tell me what the first practical method for obtaining permanent images with a camera was called?”

Hux realised with a jolt that he in fact could tell Snoke what it was called – though not because he’d been listening this time around. “Daguerreian Process, Sir.”

Snoke looked pleasantly, though suspiciously surprised. He paused for a moment in shock.

“Very good, perhaps you have been listening.”

Hux said nothing in reply, only sat back in his seat and let the Professor continue with his lesson. He heard a phone ring, the very same as it had the first time. He knew that in a few moments someone would drop their pencil. He waited a few moments, and then the clatter he was waiting for came.

But what did that all mean? He’d lived this all before, he’d already been in this timeline. But how? He remembered distantly a stinging in his temple and blacking out---

_Ben._

_Nathan shot Ben._

Hux’s heart thundered in his chest recalling the memory. Or… whatever you’d call a memory that hasn’t technically happened yet. A prophecy was perhaps a fair more accurate term. One that was likely to come true if Hux didn’t stop it. He literally had time on his side. He had to use it to save Ben.

He watched the clock tick, tick away as the time passed slowly than Hux had ever felt it passing in his life. It felt like years had passed when Snoke finally dismissed the class – not the five minutes it truly was. He gathered his things and rushed once again to the bathroom, though the sickness in his stomach this time born of another horror.  

He entered the bathroom with a crash. He stood in the centre of the room, wondering what to do, very acutely now realising he didn’t actually have a plan. He had until the butterfly entered the room.

Hux searched frantically for anything that could possibly be used to stop Nathan. He couldn’t stop Nathan physically, not when he had a weapon. He ran along the sinks, finding nothing useful in them, only gross half used bars of slimy old soap. His hands found their way along the walls to a red box. The fire alarm. Yes. It was perfect. The fire alarm was by the orange bucket, hidden by the stall walls. Hux would be able to pull the fire alarm just before Nathan drew his gun. He would be able to save Ben.

Hux settled himself behind the stalls, kneeling down on the off-white tiling. He watched as the little blue butterfly flew to land in the same place it had on the bucket. The crash of the door opening came soon after, as did the yelling.

“What do you want, Nathan?” Ben asked. Hux fought to keep his breathing even. He couldn’t be caught or it would ruin his plan.

“Kylo, you never paid me for that last deal I got you.”

“Because you didn’t get me a deal, you got me a bag of overpriced garbage.”

“No, what I got you was legitimate, and I want my money!”

Now was the time. He had literal seconds before Nathan drew his gun and pushed it to Ben’s temple and splattered his brains all over the Blackwell men’s bathroom. He punched the glass of the fire alarm open and pulled the lever down. A shrieking siren started, filling the tiny bathroom with an infuriating but thankfully distracting sound.

“Shit,” Hux heard Nathan say, followed by swift footsteps and the slamming of the bathroom door.

Hux waited until he heard Ben take a shaky breath and leave before he revealed himself from the cover of the stalls. His palms were clammy, and he wiped them on his trousers, trying to compose himself. Adrenaline was rushing through his system, making him jittery and hyperaware. He took himself out of the bathroom on shaky legs.

Outside of the bathroom it was an organised chaos. Students and teachers alike rushed out the emergency exists, destined to meet at the designated emergency spot outside the front of the Academy. He looked around for Kylo or Nathan, seeing neither, the pair disappearing as if ghosts. Hux ran a hand through his hair, and attempted to meld into the crowd.

“Mr. Hux.”

Hux turned to see the principal staring directly at him. He didn’t look pleased.

“Yes, sir?” he replied, the picture of total innocence. The Principal simply scowled at him.

“What were you doing in the bathroom?”

Hux’s heart skipped a beat. “Rather a personal question, Sir.”

The principal simply looked bored. “You’re acting strangely, Mr. Hux. Is there something you want to tell me?”

Hux put on the fakest, brightest smile he could muster. “It’s nothing, sir.”

The principal shrugged, and left, seeming satisfied with the answer. Hux breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Never had been more thankful to not be interrogated by an authority figure. He looked around the halls of Blackwell, finding they were empty – everyone must have gone outside during the alarm.

Hux made his way outside, his breathing still uneven. His heart was still racing. He took a deep breath, feeling the cool wind and gentle afternoon sun against his face. He closed him eyes for a moment, drinking in the feeling.

“Hux! Hey!”

Hux opened his eyes, looking towards the source of the sound. It was Phasma, dressed in her usual shiny chrome jacket, singlet and jeans. She was with another girl, who had a rather sour look on her face as Hux made eye contact with her. Phasma jogged over to him.

“Phasma,” He answered with a small smile.   

“What was that alarm about?” She asked, attempting small talk. Hux’s heart skipped a beat.

“I’m not sure,” he lied, deciding that the effort to explain the entire story to Phasma would be too difficult. He was finding it far easy to lie about that incident. It helped him pretend as though it didn’t happen.

Phasma hummed. “Weird,” She turned to the girl next to her, as if just remembering she was there, “Unamo and I are going down to Joyce’s diner, did you want to come?”

The last thing Hux wanted to do right now was have any sort of in depth conversation with anyone. Or eat anything – his stomach was still protesting from the stress he’d put in through in the last hour. He shook his head. “Thank you, but I’ll pass.”

“Suit yourself,” Phasma said with a shrug. She turned to Unamo, linking their arms, “See you later?” she asked Hux.

Hux simply nodded in reply. He watched as the pair strolled away, their pace leisurely slow. They seemed to be laughing about something – Hux sincerely hoped it wasn’t him. They seemed so carefree, and Hux was envious. He just wanted his body to calm down, wanted himself to stop feeling so on edge. He kept replaying the sight of Ben’s body on the ground over and over, the smell of blood invading his mind.

He _was_ curious about these time powers. They were mysterious, and Hux felt both giddy and afraid to use them. He looked at Phasma and Unamo walking away, and decided to try to use them again. He squinted his eyes, feeling a light sting in his temple. His right hand clenched, and he pointed his palm towards the pair.

His vision took on spots of red and blue, as if he was looking through a pair of paper 3D glasses. He watched with amazement as the pair moved quickly backwards, realigning to the spot they were mere seconds ago. He let go of the power, and watched the two make the exact same movement they did before. It seemed that if Hux did not interfere with the timeline then it would play itself out the very same way.  

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He fished around for the device and clicked the power button out of habit, the screen lighting up. There was an unread email from his Father sitting at the very top of the queue, the timestamp on it from a few hours ago. He sighed, flicking it aside. He was in absolutely no mood to deal with whatever his Father had to say right now – he’d read that later when his mind was more clear. Below the email there was a glowing message from Mitaka.

_thx for letting me use ur notes from snokes class last wk, ur a lifesaver, im in the parking lot with ur flashdrive_

He vaguely remembered letting Mitaka borrow his flashdrive to get some class notes off of them a few days ago. He hadn’t really had to think about it, he had all of the copies of his notes on his laptop so he hadn’t missed the flashdrive. He was reluctant to deal with Mitaka today, but from the sound of his message it didn’t seem like he’d be leaving the parking lot until Hux showed. He sighed, stuffing his phone back into his pocket and making his way to the lot at the front of the school.

On his way he saw a girl sitting on a bench get hit painfully with a wayward football from a couple of boys playing with it some distance over. She clutched at her face painfully, and Hux had wished he’d been able to warn her. Then, he realised with a jolt, he actually could. He breathed deeply, letting time rewind, a dull throb accompanying the action. He watched the football return to the boy’s hands.

“Hey, watch out!” he called, well before he knew the football would come flying at her.

She’d thankfully heard him, and had ducked just in time to dodge the ball. She smiled, and thanked him. Hux gave her a small smile and a curt nod in return before continuing onwards to the lot.  

The carpark was relatively empty, the classes being mostly over for the day. Majority of the cars that remained at this time of afternoon belonged to teachers working overtime or students who lived on campus like Hux did. He spotted his grey commodore, parked where he left it by a sad looking plant whose roots where moulded in concrete. Mitaka was standing by the boot of his car, leaning against it and waving to catch his attention.

Mitaka wasted no time in handing the flashdrive back to Hux, shoving the item clumsily into his hands.

“Thanks so much for letting me use those notes,” Mitaka said, his voice genuine, “I’d never have been able to do the last assignment without them.”

“It was no problem,” Hux replied, shoving the flashdrive into his jeans pocket, “I didn’t need them.”

Mitaka laughed politely. “You’re a whizz in that class, you know? I’ve never understood the concepts Snoke talked about as much as I did reading your notes.”

Hux squirmed uncomfortably at the flattery, “Thank you,” he said, lost for what else to day. He felt his nails begin to dig into his hands.

Just as Mitaka opened his mouth to say something else he was interrupted by someone tapping Hux on the shoulder. Hux’s brows furrowed and he turned around. He instantly regretted doing so as he was rapidly met with a painful fist in his face. He lurched sideways, clutching at his jaw. He distantly heard Mitaka protesting as well as the crack as his camera hit the ground and shattered. He looked up at his assailant, seeing that it was a rather furious looking Nathan. 

“That’s what you get for interrupting!” Nathan growled, “Maybe next time you’ll mind your own fucking business in bathrooms! Yeah, I saw you!”

Hux straightened up, his jaw throbbing. He felt his lip curl into a sneer.

“If you didn’t try to assault students within said bathrooms I wouldn’t have had to intervene.”

That smart comment just earned his another punch, this one connecting with his chin, causing his to bite down hard on his lip. He instantly began to taste iron. He rubbed the back of his hand along his mouth, bringing back a streak of red.

He was rearing back to return the favour when Nathan was pulled aside by someone else. Hux recognised the tattoo along their left arm. 

“Nathan, lay off,” Ben snapped, holding Nathan by the throat. Nathan responded by going limp, the fight draining from him. He clawed Ben’s grip away, and stormed off in a huff without another word. Clearly he decided this fight wasn’t worth it. Mitaka had left sometime during the commotion, which was probably for the best. 

“You alright?” Ben asked him, “You’ve got a rather nasty bruise there.”

Ben waved to the general vicinity of Hux’s face. From the stinging coming from that area he assumed he probably looked a right mess. Ben’s eyes narrowed in on his face, his brows furrowing in thought.

“Hux?” Ben asked, his voice disbelieving.

“Ben?”

Ben’s face darkened, “I didn’t know you were back at Arcadia.”

Hux felt a jolt of guilt run through him, “I’ve only been here a month.”

“A month?!” Ben shrieked, “And not once did you think to tell me?”

Hux sighed, “Ben, we haven’t spoken in years--“

“Kylo.”

“What?” Hux asked.

“I go by Kylo now. You’d have known that if you’d ever bothered to call,” Ben – Kylo – snapped. There was a snarl beginning on his lips and his arms were crossed defensively.

“Look, I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened,” Hux said, “It all happened so quickly. I didn’t know what to say.”

Kylo huffed, “You could say that. I just woke up and you were gone. No call, no messages, no notes – nothing. You just vanished for five years without a peep. You were my best, only, friend, and you just _left.”_

“I did mean to call you.”

“’Mean to’ doesn’t make it better.”

Hux sighed, “I know,” he said, his voice resigned and dripping with guilt.

There was a beat of silence.

“Thanks for what you did then,” Hux said, gesturing vaguely, “With Nathan.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Kylo said, shrugging nonchalantly, as if he regularly assaulted rich kids on campus all the time. Maybe Kylo did. Hux knew Ben, he didn’t know Kylo, “You should probably go to the nurses.”

Hux shrugged, moving to pick up the pieces of his camera, shoving the shattered remnants into his bag. “I suppose.”

Kylo squinted at him, “You’re not going to go to the nurses are you?”

Hux shook his head, then laughed, “How’d you know?”

“I know you,” Kylo said, cocking his eyebrow, “I know you hated the nurses office. You always said they made you feel like you were in a horror film.”

“You remember that?”

“Of course, I remember everything about you,” Kylo replied, shrugging once again, “Come with me, I’ll patch you up.”

“Oh,” Hux said, caught off guard, “You don’t have to-“

“If I don’t you’ll probably let that get infected,” Kylo said, pointing to the cut on his lip, “It’ll just be easier if I do it.”

Kylo strode away, walking towards a rather beaten up looking ute that may once have been white. As of currently the paint was beginning to feel and was so covered in dirt, grime  and rust that it was more of a creamy pale brown. Kylo opened the driver’s seat door and clambered in. He didn’t open the door for Hux, just assumed that he’d get in too. Hux stood stunned for a moment. The Ben he knew would have tripped over his own feet to help him.

“Get in, Hux!” Kylo yelled, hanging half out of the window. Hux grumbled to himself, but resigned himself to getting into the passenger’s seat.

The door creaked as he opened it, as did the seat as he sat down. The entire cabin smelled like an ashtray. There was trash littering the floor of the passenger seat, boxes from take-out places, empty water bottles and crumpled papers. It seemed as if Kylo had no had anyone but himself in his car for quite some time. The backseat was immaculate, as if no one had _ever_ sat there.

“Watch it, your lip is bleeding all over your pants,” Kylo warned, putting the key in the ignition and turning it. The car roared to life, the engine sounding as though it had certainly seen better days.

Hux looked down – he certainly was bleeding onto his jeans, the little red spots speckled across his thighs. He brought his hand to his mouth, trying to catch the droplets before they could make a further mess of his pants or, worse, Kylo’s car.

“Do you have a tissue or something?” Hux asked, realising his hand probably wasn’t going to be the best defence against his own blood.

“Uh, dunno, check the glove box,” Kylo said, shrugging, keeping his eyes firmly on the road as he manoeuvred them out of Blackwell’s tight and absolutely nightmarish car park. Kylo honked as a student walked out in front of his without checking if there were cars coming. They only flipped him off in response.

Hux leaned forward to open the glove box, rummaging around for a tissue. Like the floor, the compartment was also full of garbage. He spotted a packet of travel tissues and pulled one out holding it to his lip. The pressure stang, but he knew it was for the best.

The drive passed by in relative silence. Though, a comfortable silence, it was not. There was a tension in the car that could be cut by a knife. Hux wasn’t familiar with the person Ben had become in his five year absence, and he was rather afraid to find out. Every time he spoke to Kylo it felt as if he was attempting to defuse a bomb. He wasn’t sure what to say or what to do around this new person, and it broke his heart. He missed the easy friendship he had had with Ben, but knew, guiltily, deep down he was responsible for their lack of communication. He felt completely out of his element.  

The five years since he’d left Arcadia had not been pleasant. His father had whisked him away one morning without warning, saying he got a new job closer to the big city. He’d been reluctant to leave Arcadia, but even more reluctant to leave Ben. He had truly meant to call Ben during those five years, but he could never think of an explanation for where he’d gone. He had stayed up far too late or far too many nights thinking of the right words that he could never quite find, trying to find the courage to hit the little green send button that seemed to scream at him not to be such a _fucking coward_ each and every time. So he’d just ignored it, tried to more on. He’d never thought that he’d see Ben again, let alone be sitting with him in his car. It was all very surreal, seeing Ben’s face again – though it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing to happen to him today.

Kylo pulled up in front of a cosy looking off white house. It seemed to have two stories, and the top window was open. There was a plant on the windowsill, its leaves brown and clearly forgotten. He vaguely wondered who the plant belonged to as contrastingly there was a plentiful garden in the front yard, packed with colourful flowers of all shades and bright hues of the rainbow.

“We’re here,” Kylo announced, jumping out of the ute. The door closed behind him with a thud, the sound echoing throughout the cabin.

Hux fumbled for the door latch, throwing the door open. He kept it open with his foot, the heavy metal threatening to swing back on him due to the incline of the driveway. Kylo was already halfway up towards the door when he’d managed to pull himself free from the vehicle. Kylo seemed to be looking for something out on the road, his brows furrowed.

“What?” Hux asked, looking at where Kylo’s eyes were turned and finding nothing.

Kylo sniffed. “Just checking if Leia’s home.”

Hux remembered Leia, though only vaguely. She’d been nice to him. She’d certainly been a better mother figure to him when he was ten that Maratelle had been.  

“And is she?” he snapped impatiently.

Kylo gave him a dirty look. “No, her car isn’t here.”

Kylo opened the door to the house with a key he dragged from his jean’s pocket. The keyring was sparse, and only contained his house key, his car key, and a battered little moose keyring that looked as though it had certainly seen better days.

Kylo stepped into the house, not bothering to wipe his shoes on the welcome mat. Hux, because he wasn’t a barbarian, did wipe his shoes. Kylo disappeared down the hallway, his boots thundering on the wooden passageway. Hux followed after him, his eyes wandering around the house he noticed had barely changed since he was last here five years ago.

Kylo stopped in the kitchen, rummaging around below the sink. He brought out a box and opened it. Inside were bandages and gauze as well as some disinfectant. He looked through the box, drawing out the bottle of disinfectant and then looked at Hux expectantly.

“What?” Hux asked.

“Sit on the bench,” Kylo commanded, pushing a bowl aside to make a space for him to sit.

Hux didn’t ask questions, only hopped up onto the bench and leaned his head back against the cupboards beside him. The bench creaked under his weight as he shifted. Kylo took the tissue from him, throwing the bloodied cloth into the flip-top bin beside him. He picked up a cotton ball and carefully dripped some of the clear disinfectant onto it.

Kylo grabbed at Hux’s face, to which Hux made a small noise of protest. Kylo’s grip only tightened, as if Kylo had some sort of vendetta against his cheek.

“Ow,” Hux complained, trying to pull Kylo’s fingers loose.

Kylo’s eyes widened as he seemed to realise what he was doing. His grip softened. “Sorry.”

Kylo dabbed gently at the cut on his lip. The disinfectant stung, and the dribble that made it into his mouth tasted disgustingly bitter. He cringed at the feeling. Kylo pulled his hand away as if he’d been shocked.

“Was I too rough?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned.  

Hux was taken aback. “No, no… it just stang a bit.”

“Oh.”

Kylo went back to dabbing the disinfectant on the wound, throwing the cotton ball away when it became too soaked with red. The cut had mostly stopped bleeding now but the mess it had made on Hux’s face was proving to be an issue. Kylo touch was surprisingly tender and carefully, and he didn’t go out of the way to make the experience more unpleasant that it had to be. He felt a strange calm wash over him. Despite their time apart this was familiar, this thing with Kylo.

“Did he get you anywhere else?” Kylo asked, his brows furrowed.

Hux shook his head, “I think you’ve cleaned most of the damage.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Thanks for this, by the way.”

Kylo shrugged. “No problem.”

There was the distant sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Kylo’s eyes widened and he shot around the corner, peering out of the front window.

“Shit,” Kylo swore, “You can’t be here.”

“What, why?”

Kylo sighed, a growl creeping into the sound. “It’s complicated.”

Hux’s mood immediately soured. “Well I can’t get out of the front door now can I?!”

Kylo shot him a dirty look. “Fuck, you’re right. Follow me.”

Kylo shot up the stairs, his long legs taking them two at a time. Hux took them just as quickly, though one at a time. Each stair creaked as he walked on it. There were several frames along the stairwell filled with pictures of Kylo when he was younger as well as Leia and Han. There were also several pictures of a strange man Hux didn’t recognise. He was old, perhaps the same age as Han and Leia are, and had a salt and pepper hair. In all of the photos he was smiling, but there was something uncomfortable about his stance – as though he didn’t quite belong there. He never appeared in the same photograph as Kylo did.

“Hux, get your ass up here!” Kylo yelled, leaning over the stairwell.

Hux hurried up the rest of the stairs. Kylo grabbed his shoulder and dragged him into a room at the top, shoving him in and closing the door behind them. Hux stood uncomfortably in the centre of the room while he watched the whirlwind that was Kylo look around for something. He stopped at the stereo, turning it on and turning the volume up. Kylo rubbed his hands along his jeans, double checking that the door was locked.

“Want to tell me what that was all about?” Hux huffed, crossing his hands over his chest.

Kylo tucked a piece of hair behind his ear, below his grey beanie. “That’s Uncle Luke.”

“You have an uncle?”

Kylo shrugged. “Yeah, sorta – he came back to Arcadia sometime after you left. He’s my mother’s brother.”

Hux walked over to Kylo’s desk and pushed his laptop aside, leaning against the space he made. He noticed the pot plant he’d seen in the window earlier. Of course it was Kylo’s.

Kylo’s room looked very different to the last time Hux had been in the Solo household what feels like a lifetime ago. His bed was but a mattress on the floor with one single, ratty looking plaid blanket and a flattened pillow. There were boxes strewn everywhere, the clutter making it seem as though Kylo had moved in but never bothered to truly make the room a home. There was an old TV in the corner that Hux knew used to be in the living room. It was covered in a layer of dust that made Hux want to sneeze just by looking at it. His walls were the starkest difference. Ben hadn’t liked to keep posters up, said they made him feel uncomfortable, but Kylo’s room was absolutely covered in them – everything from band posters to images bordering on pornographic decorated the off white walls of the bedroom. 

“And why is he not allowed to see me?” Hux asked, looking rather pointedly at Kylo.

Kylo withered under his gaze. “I just—I don’t want him to see you yet. He knows about you but… I don’t want him to know you’re back.”

Hux was puzzled. “Why?”

Kylo huffed in frustration. “Look, Hux, I have to share everything with Luke and I’m sick of it. I just don’t want him to know yet.”

“You don’t want to share me with your Uncle.”

Kylo groaned. “Well, when you put it like that it sounds stupid.”

Hux barked a laugh. “Could that be because it is?”

“Maybe!” Kylo said, his voice breathy and exasperated. A rogue smile began cracking on his face even if he seemed determined not to let it show. Hux felt one breaking into his too. This bickering was familiar too. In moments they were laughing with, and perhaps at, each other – giggling like a pair of school boys.

 “I’m so glad you’re back.”

Hux smiled softly. “Me too.”

Kylo tensed, and looked as if he might move to Hux hug, but didn’t. He seemed to be holding himself back, his hand clenching and unclenching. Hux was both thankful and disappointed.

Hux put his hand back on the desk, gasping when it slid along with something on the table. He picked up the object stuck to his hand. It was a photograph, one with a particularly well-worn fold down the middle. The fold ran between two people, one of them Kylo, and one of them a girl Hux didn’t recognise. She had similar features to Kylo, though her face was much softer. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a bun, and she had on a big bright smile – one that looked completely natural and uninhibited. Kylo on the other hand looked surly and had his middle finger up to the camera. Charming.

“Who’s this?” Hux asked, flipping the photograph around so Kylo could see it.

Kylo’s features dropped, and his whole aura seemed to darken. His eyes became glazed. “That’s Rey.”

“Who?”

“Luke’s daughter. My cousin.”

Hux looked back at the photograph. “She seems lovely. Does she live here?”

Kylo took a shaky breath. “Yeah… she – she used to I mean. She went missing a month ago.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve been putting up missing person’s posters everywhere, but no one knows where she is,” Kylo said, fiddling with the stereo.

“I’m sorry,” Hux said in lieu of anything else to say.

Kylo shrugged. “Not your fault,” Kylo took another breath, “We were planning to run away from here, leave Arcadia together. Maybe she did that. Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.”

Hux was silent, unsure what to say.

Kylo’s lips curled angrily. “Maybe she pulled a ‘you’.” Kylo eyes widened slightly even as he said the sentence, his body curling inward, seeming to immediately regret his words.

That statement felt like a punch to Hux’s gut. “Kylo, we’ve been over this—“

Kylo cut him off with a wave. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m over it now. I just want to appreciate you being back. Sorry for being such a jerk.”

Kylo walked over to his bed and sat down heavily on the mattress. He pulled a cigarette from a pack in his jacket as well as a lighter. He lit the cigarette, tapping the ash off into an ashtray on the floor. He took a long drag, letting the smoke leave his mouth in a lazy fog.

“Leia lets you smoke in here?” Hux asked, his eyebrow cocked. That seemed unlike the memory he had of Kylo’s mother.

“Nope,” Kylo replied, taking another drag, “So why’d Nathan pick a fight with you?”

Hux’s heart skipped a beat. “Pardon?”

“I mean, he’s an asshole but he doesn’t just go around swinging fists at anyone. So what’d you do?”

Hux swallowed thickly, “I don’t know what you mean.”

Kylo looked directly at him, his eyes seeming to pierce his very soul. “Hux, I know when you’re lying. Please don’t lie to me.”

Hux huffed and flopped down on the bed next to Kylo. “I was in the bathroom…”

“Uh, tmi?”

Hux resisted the urge to punch Kylo. “Fuck off, let me finish,” Hux tapped his hands on his jeans, taking a deep breath, “I saw you and Nathan in the bathroom today. I pulled the fire alarm. I heard everything,” Hux said, the words all coming out in a rush.

“Shit, Hux,” Kylo swore, “Think you could have maybe told me that a little earlier?”

“I didn’t seem important.”

Kylo took a drag of his cigarette. “Eh, it’s whatever,” Kylo turned to look directly into his eyes once more, “Important though – did you tell anyone?”

Hux shook his head. “The principal asked, but I didn’t say a word.”  

“Good.”

There was a moment of silence. Hux looked absent-mindedly into his shoulder bag, groaning at the shattered pieces of his camera. He drew out the ruined device, sneering at its very existence. It was completely smashed beyond repair. The leaned over towards Kylo’s desk, dumping the remains of his crushed camera into the bin by it.

Kylo sat ramrod straight, as if he’d forgotten something. He jumped up off the bed, crushing his cigarette in the little red ashtray.

“What are you doing?” Hux asked.

Kylo didn’t answer, only started to rummage around in his closet for something. There was a thud as something hit the ground.

“Whoops,” Kylo said dismissively, continuing his search.

“Kylo, what is going on?” Hux asked once more.

“Hux, will you just shut up and have patience for once in your—ah!”

Kylo turned back to him, a camera in his hand and a massive smile plastered across his face.

“What?”

“I know it was your birthday last month.”

Hux’s brow cocked in confusion. “So?”

“So, I want you to have this,” Kylo said, bounding over to him and shoving the camera ungracefully into his arms. Hux jolted, nearly dropping it. It looked vintage but incredibly expensive. It was a polaroid just like the camera he’d just thrown away. “It was Han’s.”

“Well then shouldn’t he be using it?”

Kylo cringed at the question and Hux felt strangely as though he’d said something wrong. “Han died three weeks after you left.”

Hux’s heart dropped. “Oh.”

“Car crash as you know, he was declared braindead not long after,” Kylo said simply, then forcefully smiled again, though this time it lacked some warmth, “He’d want brilliant pictures to be taken with them and well… those aren’t going to come from me. I know you’ll do it justice.”

“Kylo,” Hux started, holding the camera back out, “I can’t take this—“

“Nonsense, of course you can, I’m giving it to you,” Kylo said shoving it back into his arms.

“I,” Hux started, trying desperately to find the words, “Thank you.”

Kylo bounced on his heels uncomfortably, “Anyway, why don’t you take a picture with it?”

“Of what, your filthy room?” Hux quipped.

Kylo at least had the dignity to look mockingly offended, “That hurts, Hux,” he said, clutching his chest in faux pain, “How about a picture of me?”

“That’s rather vain of you,” Hux teased. Kylo stuck out his tongue in response. There was a metal ball pierced right into the centre of it.

“Fuck you, take the picture.”

Hux took the camera in his hands and lined it up, looking through the lens. On the other side he could see Kylo pulling a rather ridiculous face – his eyes wide open and his lips pursed like a fish. Hux fought down the temptation to laugh. He clicked the button on the top of the camera, and watched as Kylo was blinded by the flash. Kylo blinked several times over in a way Hux found to be endearing. When the picture was printed, Hux held it up to Kylo with a disapproving look.

“What a handsome man,” Kylo joked.

“You’re an idiot.”

Kylo laughed, the sound light and free. “I’m more fun that way.”

Kylo sat down next to him once again. The pair said nothing for several moments, simply enjoying each other’s company. The silence was comfortable, familiar, yet slightly strange too. Hux was still getting used to where Ben ended and Kylo began, and just how much of Ben was left in this strange new man.

Kylo sighed deeply. “It doesn’t sound like Luke’s leaving anytime soon.”

There was a clatter from the kitchen – probably Luke dropping a fork. Hux hummed in agreement. His eyes were drawn to the window.

“I could leave through the window?”

Kylo snorted. “Look at you, you little rebel. I’ll come with,” Kylo stopped suddenly in thought, “Let’s go up to the lighthouse, you can take some pictures with your new camera. Besides, it smells like smoke in here.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

“Fuck off,” Kylo replied, no malice in his voice.

The pair made it slowly and carefully out of Kylo’s window. It was a tight squeeze, but they both managed to make it out safely, without breaking anything, and with making very little noise. They took Kylo’s ute up to the lighthouse, the drive serene and quiet.   

Kylo bounded up to the top of the hill where a bench sat overlooking the bay. Hux felt distinctly strange in this place. Flashes of a storm raged through his mind, the imaginary wind lashing against his cheeks. He gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Kylo asked.

Hux’s head began to sting, and the pain kept mounting and mounting until he was clutching his head and crumpling to the ground. His brain felt like it was on fire.

Suddenly he was back in his nightmare, the storm raging around him, the same tornado he’d seen in Snoke’s photography class. His hair stood on end, and he could feel the electricity in the air. His heart raced, it all felt far too real.

A newspaper flew by but was stopped by the fencepost by the bench. He grabbed at the paper. His hands were trembling, and he didn’t seem to be able to make them stop. The ink was smudged but he could read the date. October 11th.

Four days from now.

He looked over the bay. The tornado was heading towards the town. It was going to destroy everything, just like last time. There was a massive crash as a stray boat was thrown into the lighthouse by the wind. He wanted to scream, yell for help, _anything._

There was a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly the sun returned. Kylo was there, looking at him with concern.

“It’s real!” Hux shrieked, his voice panicked ever to his own ears, “The tornado is real!”

“Woah, Hux, calm down,” Kylo said, his hand on Hux’s arm, holding there tightly and Hux squirmed to get away, “What are you talking about?”

“A tornado is going to destroy the bay!”

Kylo shook his head as though clearly it, “Oregon gets one tornado every twenty years, Hux,” Kylo said slowly, his voice deep and calm but also infuriatingly patronising.

“Kylo, I’m not crazy! It’s real, and it’s going to happen this Friday!” Hux said frantically, “I’ve had this vision before and when I came out of it I could reverse time!”

“What?!” Kylo said, his voice bordering on hysterical.

“I saw you get shot Kylo, I saw you _die,_ ” Hux said, realising now suddenly he very well might be on the verge of panicked tears, “I reversed time to save you.”

“Uh, okay… Maybe you need a nap, you seem to be hallucinating,” Kylo said, slowly taking his hands off Hux’s arm.

“No! Listen to me! I don’t know what’s going on or why I can reverse time but Kylo… Kylo I’m so scared,” Hux said, his voice small and panicked. His breath was coming out in short puffs. He felt lightheaded.

Something cold touched Hux’s forehead. He looked up frantically, seeing snowflakes falling slowly from the sky. The sky was covered in them, and they seemed to reach all of Arcadia Bay.

“What the fuck,” Kylo said, “It’s like eighty degrees out here.”

“See, I’m not lying! A storm is coming, you need to listen to me!” Hux said, grabbing Kylo roughly by his singlet. Kylo held up his hands in surrender.

“Okay, okay, I believe you!” Kylo said, “I don’t know why but I believe you. What are we going to do?”

Hux looked up, feeling miserable and for once, absolutely and completely out of his depth.

“I don’t know.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for this chapter: There is some heavy violence that occurs during the bathroom scene so heads up on that. 
> 
> I'm stardestroyervigilance on Tumblr!


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